Where’s the best place to meet vampires? The baronet’s house, which was initially planned, was off the table for a number of reasons. I suggested “At Mo’s,” only for Sunset to twirl a finger next to his temple. But why not? It seemed like a good place: the precinct wasn’t far, there were plenty of coppers about, and that alone should discourage any bloodsuckers from playing their little nerve games. The “Anvil” was already under the Fairburns’ watchful eye, and Moody’s office seemed no different, so those two options were out. Kate suggested the warehouse by the docks—the same one we had used to prepare for the fight with the Valentines back when Lucas was still alive—but Nina flatly refused to meet on potential enemy turf. She feared a “warm reception” and demanded safety guarantees from Harry.

  Harry valued his word more than the vampire’s life, and he trusted Kate about as much as he trusted any member of her kind. So, naturally, he refused to guarantee anything.

  “Well, why not,” I thought, and named a place with a reputation for being neutral ground. “The Noose?”

  Sunset made to twirl his finger again but stopped halfway, reining himself in.

  “You’re not exactly making my life easier,” he said. “First, you pissed off the judge, and now you want to walk straight into a viper’s nest to meet vampires?”

  “What about the piers?” Harry suggested. “It’ll be dark soon.”

  “We’re not dumping a body,” Sunset objected. “And there are plenty of creatures for whom darkness isn’t a problem.”

  “It won’t be for us either,” the wizard assured him.

  “An open space… no. The warehouse in the docks is still better. Remember the one where Valentine tortured us?” the detective asked me.

  “Didn’t it burn down?”

  “Rebuilt. It should still be empty.”

  The warehouse belonged to some obscure businessman with no known connections to the vampires, so the bloodsuckers agreed to this option. The only thing left was to arrive first and sort things out with the security guard. Vampires, for all their talent at lying, have a very… particular kind of diplomacy. Snap the poor guard’s neck, drain his blood, and toss the body off the pier. It wouldn’t even occur to them to part with twenty quid to sort things peacefully—it’s simply not the first thing that crosses their minds.

  This time, luck—and Knuckles’ driving skills—were on our side. It didn’t take us long to find the guard; the wizard cast a life-detection spell. It malfunctioned wildly, overwhelmed by the hordes of warehouse rats, but Harry found the old watchman on his own and spoke to him. He slipped a couple of banknotes into the trembling hand and advised the man to hide in his little room for the next few hours. I’m not sure what the man saw instead of Harry, but he nodded and agreed so vigorously that it looked as though the devil himself was standing there.

  The warehouse had indeed been rebuilt but was yet to be painted, making its fresh planks stand out starkly in the darkness. The air carried the mingling scents of pine and the sea, though the bitter undertones of old ash lingered. Since the warehouse was empty, the doors weren’t locked. We opened the gates, Knuckles parked the Cooper inside, switched off the headlights, and perched on the front wheel arch, his submachine gun resting across his lap.

  The darkness didn’t trouble me much. My grandfather had been dosing me with potions to sharpen my eyesight since childhood, but I didn’t say no to Harry’s spell. Suddenly, I could see as clearly as if it were broad daylight—everything rendered in uniform shades of blue though.

  Five minutes later, another Cooper rolled into the warehouse. I was expecting the fast Martin or some other sleek roadster, but this time the vampires had opted for something less flashy and more spacious. All the Cooper’s doors opened simultaneously. Nina and her boys were outside in perfect sync a moment later.

  Now that darkness had fallen, the vampire could afford a more open outfit—no ridiculous wide-brimmed hat or scarf this time. Instead, her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. On a woman with centuries of experience, it looked alluring, but not in the way it might have otherwise. She’d clearly prioritized practicality over beauty, even swapping heels for boots. Preparing for a fight, the cunning thing: the boys were armed with Thompsons, and she herself had combat rods sticking out of her pockets. I couldn’t tell what elements they were imbued with, though; everything looked blue to me thanks to Harry’s spell.

  “And where’s the… other one?” Nina asked.

  “We’re waiting,” Sunset replied curtly.

  “I had nothing to do with her girl’s death!” Gratch declared.

  “Hold your horses,” John said, nodding toward the warehouses, where a pair of headlights flared in the distance.

  Kate arrived in an Austin. That car was slightly smaller than the Cooper but carried powerful enchantments. Someone of Harry’s kind had clearly put in some serious work—perhaps one of the Fairburn lot? Considering the car was packed with small women, they still had plenty of room for weapons.

  The first woman to jump out of the Austin, on the side opposite Gratch, immediately set up a BAR machine gun on the hood—a weapon that was quite popular in the military. The Gratches grew visibly uneasy, lowering their Tommy guns and quickly ducking behind their Cooper. All except Nina, who simply drew her rods. Sensible move: hiding wouldn’t have helped. A rifle round could punch straight through brick, and the Gratches hadn’t bothered with any magical protection for their Cooper. The Lindemanns, on the other hand, were stocked with enchanted ammunition—and plenty of it!

  Another vampire on the far side of the Austin hefted a second BAR. The smallest one of the group, a tiny thing barely four-foot-nine, and the smallest vampire I’d ever seen, aimed a staff straight at the Gratches. Kate, however, was the only one armed with an enchanted saber.

  Before the ladies and gentlemen could start tearing each other’s throats out, Harry summoned his book and threw up a transparent wall between the bloodsuckers. That cooled their tempers a bit.

  “Let’s not turn this into a bloody circus,” John said.

  “My sister is dead!” Kate reminded them. Losses in the family had become far more painful for her in recent times.

  “What’s that got to do with me?” Nina asked. “Or do you think I’d have left the rest of them alive? If that were the case, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now—we’d be tossing your corpse off the pier.”

  “Not enough strength,” Kate shot back.

  “Ladies!” John barked, cutting them off. He turned to Nina. “Who was in the house?”

  “Jamie,” the vampire called.

  A blond-haired man with a submachine gun hesitantly stepped out from behind the Cooper.

  “Start talking,” John ordered.

  The vampire waited for his mother’s nod before he began:

  “We approached the house. Sally disabled the spell, and I fiddled with the lock mechanism. We went in and headed straight upstairs to the professor’s study.”

  “Didn’t look around?” Kate interrupted.

  “Well, we listened… There wasn’t much time, and splitting up…”

  “We both told them not to split up,” Nina cut in. “Didn’t we?”

  Kate had no choice but to agree, and Jamie continued:

  “We’d just gone up the stairs—I was leading—when I heard the crackle of ice. I turned around, and Sally had a needle sticking out of her head. I saw a figure in the kitchen doorway and fired.”

  “So quick to draw your gun?” John asked, trying to catch the vampire in a lie.

  “We had them out already.”

  “Sally too?”

  “Yes,” the vampire said, confused. “Oh, I see—you’re talking about the gun that wasn’t in the house. I grabbed it. No time to reload, so I took the revolver when I ran.”

  “Go on,” the detective prompted.

  I made a mental note that not only was the gun missing, but there were no bullet holes in the walls either, if my memory served me correctly.

  “I hit him, but he had some kind of protection, so the shot didn’t matter. I immediately jumped over the bannister to avoid being a sitting duck on the stairs, but I caught a needle in the liver mid-air. And I was wearing a good protective amulet!”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “Can I see it?” Harry perked up.

  “I didn’t bring it…”

  “How convenient,” Kate muttered.

  “Have you ever reused protection that failed you once?!” Nina snapped back in defense of her son. “Keep going.”

  “Well, I emptied the cylinder into him, shooting from the hip. First three were regular rounds, then two ‘apples,’ but I only got the bastard with the last one—a ‘death needle.”

  I even let out a low whistle. Crafting a round like that required true mastery and some incredibly rare ingredients. Naturally, the price was outrageous. Finding one for a hundred was considered a stroke of luck.

  “Expensive round,” I commented.

  “Two hundred, bloody hell,” the vampire confirmed, “but life’s worth more.”

  “Death aura?” I asked Harry.

  “Possibly,” the wizard confirmed.

  “Let’s not get sidetracked,” John brought us back to the conversation. “What happened next?”

  “That’s pretty much it. I shot the bastard in the chest, and he ran off. The cops arrived, I gave them the short version, grabbed Sally’s gun, and followed. But he used some sort of mist, and I lost the trail—my wound had to be tended to.”

  “You’re certain it was an Archmaker?” I asked.

  “I’m certain it was Gregor Chapman. They showed us his photograph.”

  “Is he one of your kind?” I asked again.

  “If you mean, is he a vampire, then no. Even when I hit him, he didn’t bare his teeth or show red eyes.”

  “Damn it, it doesn’t add up again! Who did I knock a tooth out of?”

  “All right, that’s enough for now,” John said.

  “Hold on,” Harry interrupted, motioning to the vampire. “Come here.”

  The vampire didn’t move, gripping his submachine gun nervously and casting a pleading look at his mother. He looked like a child at the dentist’s office. Nina rolled her eyes dramatically and gave a dismissive wave in the wizard’s direction. The blond bloodsucker approached reluctantly, trying to keep the gun somewhat directed at Harry, though he couldn’t bring himself to properly aim.

  “Hand me the toy,” I said, gesturing at the weapon.

  “And roll up your sleeve,” Harry added.

  The vampire couldn’t help but glance at his mother again. The Lindemann women collectively snorted, breaking into giggles, which made Nina grind her teeth in frustration. Judging by her glare, Jamie quickly realized it was better to hand over the gun. He shoved it into my hands and obediently rolled up his sleeve, revealing a round mark over his liver. Harry pulled a complex spell from his book and aligned it with the wound.

  “You’re good to go,” Harry said.

  I returned the gun to the vampire.

  “Oh, great wizard,” Nina said with mock reverence. “Care to share with the rest of us?”

  “Ice needle,” Harry announced. “Three or four hours ago. Some kind of healing agent was used...”

  “Graves’ Mist,” the vampire confirmed.

  “That, along with fresh blood and raw meat,” Harry added.

  “Thank you!” Nina said in a tone that sounded more like wishing him a slow death in quicksand.

  “That’s it? Just like that?” Kate protested. “My sister is dead!”

  “Don’t boil over,” John said calmly. “Harry and I were in that house too. We’ve learned a few things.”

  “Care to share?” Nina asked, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “After all, we’re all allies here!” she joked.

  “Sure,” Sunset muttered, “especially you two. First the club, then the college. Where shall we begin?”

  “There was nothing interesting at the club,” Kate said. “I went there myself. Just a bunch of old turkeys talking about birds and bees with a self-important air. No security, no hidden compartments, no safes.”

  “Did you look at the professor’s work?” Harry asked.

  Kate nodded dismissively.

  “Did you look carefully?” the wizard pressed.

  “You’re joking, right? There’s enough paper there to last a year—sketches about ancient warlocks and wizards, the founding history of Duthigh, legends about higher Ethereals, shifters, and vampires...” Kate waved her hand. “Only a lunatic like him could make sense of it.”

  “If someone has more brains than you,” Harry said sternly, “you shouldn’t call them a lunatic.”

  “But he is one!” Nina suddenly chimed in, which earned her a skeptical look from Kate and the rest of us. The Gratch matriarch’s sharp retort made her frown.

  “Facts are facts,” she said.

  “Explain,” John prompted her.

  “You finished?” Nina asked Kate, who nodded. “Alice and I”—she gestured to the vampire resting her BAR on the Austin’s hood—“were keeping tabs on the professor. We didn’t see the argument; it happened behind the department’s closed doors, but the old bastard was yelling loud enough for the entire university to hear. Among other things, he called Simon a freak and a whore’s son. Oh, and this—he threw the first punch.”

  “You’re sure?” John asked, intrigued.

  “We didn’t see it,” the vampire with the machine gun interjected, “but there was a loud thud first, then the sound of lightning.”

  “We should’ve informed Harold,” the detective clicked his tongue.

  “Already did,” Nina nodded.

  Kate shot her another suspicious look.

  “What? I exchanged a few words with him and still got here before you!”

  “Ladies!” Sunset barked. “Can we get more details about Kettle’s fight with Chapman?”

  “There’s not much to tell,” Nina said with irritation.

  “You nearly ran to help him,” Kate reminded her, making it clear she’d already gone over her sister’s version of events—or perhaps even tweaked it. “And when Alice tried to stop you, you nearly killed her.”

  “Well, I didn’t kill her, did I?” Nina protested. “And honestly, I think I behaved pretty decently, given the circumstances.”

  “Don’t overplay it,” Kate advised.

  “Ladies!” Harry’s voice carried a touch of magic, scraping like sandpaper across the vampires’ sensitive ears. “How long are you going to bicker? Just tell me what happened after the argument.”

  “As soon as the fight started,” Nina began, “the faculty called security, and they restrained Simon.”

  “They restrained a sorcerer that easily?”

  “Two old shifters,” Alice snorted. “Judging by the way they moved, retired military. They just hurled a table at him—crude but effective.”

  “Bastards,” Nina hissed. “The old man accused Simon of attacking him and ordered the police to be called. When the officers arrived, he gave his statement, phoned his son, and left for court, then went home. We didn’t follow him to court. We waited outside, trailed him to his house, and only after that did we disperse. I only found out your sister was killed when I got home!” Nina told Kate.

  “Who’s watching the old man now?” John asked.

  The vampires exchanged uneasy glances.

  “Well,” the detective said, “I don’t believe for a second that you just scattered and let things run their course after hearing about the girl’s death. Who did you leave on surveillance?”

  The vampires glanced at each other again before Nina finally broke.

  “A couple of my boys are watching the professor; another two are keeping an eye on Simon.”

  Kate cursed under her breath.

  “Mine are watching the old man. One’s on the judge.”

  “Just one?” Nina said, surprised. “Ah, short-staffed. Got it.”

  “Shut up,” Lindemann snapped, then turned her attention to John, pressing him for answers.

  “The old man saw the girl’s body. He didn’t speak to anyone, but he confidently stated that she was a vampire.”

  “The judge couldn’t have told him?” Kate asked.

  “The judge didn’t know.”

  “So, what now?” Nina asked, pouring venom into her voice. “What’s the next brilliant move?”

  Sunset matched her tone. “How about not shooting each other? It’s already clear the Archmaker is Gregor, and his grandfather’s covering for him. Believe me, that’s a lot. I’ve solved cases with less. Give the old man a little time—he’ll make a mistake. Just don’t take your eyes off him so you’ll catch it when he does. If you’re expecting a master plan from me, there isn’t one. But I’m open to suggestions.”

  He looked at Nina, who responded with a skeptical snort.

  “And if there are no suggestions, let’s wait for morning. My head’s a mess; I can’t come up with anything coherent right now. In the morning, Simon will be released, and Moody will join the discussion. He’s got a sharp mind. Together, we might come up with something. Speaking of which,” he turned to Kate, “have you been summoned yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “What will you tell the cops?”

  “The usual,” Kate said irritably, waving her saber. “The girl went rogue; what she was doing in the judge’s house—I have no idea.”

  “Or you could say you were investigating your sister’s death,” I suggested.

  “Not a bad idea,” Sunset admitted. “That might cause the Chapmans some trouble, though…” He hesitated, glancing at me, then at Knuckles.

  Harry chuckled. “After the way I shook him down? He won’t hold back, and neither should we.”

  “Don’t lose fighters,” Harry warned the vampires. “You might still need them.” He removed the magical wall separating the groups.

  The bloodsuckers immediately raised their weapons at each other, but the matriarchs spread their arms to hold them back.

  “Easy, girls!”

  “Calm down, boys! Not today.”

  “Just get going,” Harry said.

  Surprisingly, the vampires complied, lowering their weapons and piling back into their cars. The Lindemanns’ Austin pulled out first, with the Gratches’ Cooper following at a respectful distance.

  We left last. Harry invited John to spend the night with us, saying he didn’t want to risk losing him in case the Archmaker and his grandfather made a move. Harry clearly enjoyed John’s company.

  John agreed, but we had to swing by his place to grab a change of clothes and some shaving supplies. He left his landlady with Harry’s number, which proved handy: she called early in the morning, before seven.

  The Fourth Precinct was leaking again, unable to keep information contained—but this time, we didn’t mind. The hotel landlady told John that his friend had called, warning that an inspection team from the Welfare Department was heading to Sir Harry’s place. This time, it was as official as it gets: by court order, accompanied by representatives from the orphanage and constables from the Fourth Precinct.